red_blanks_for_february raze 1. i want to spell these words in my spaghettios: _______. 2. i always find comfort in _______. 3. a true friend is someone who _______. 4. my secret superpower is _______. 5. i am at my bravest when _______. 240207 ... nr 1. i want to spell these words in my spaghettios: "uh-oh" is the cop-out/natural answer to this, i feel, and then a musical note. but i am cheating and sharing an anecdote: i remember eating alphabet soup years ago and looking down and seeing "ho" had made its way onto my spoon. it made me laugh and also realize my food didn't think very highly of me. 2. i always find comfort in my resilience. 3. a true friend is someone who loves and cares about the youest version of you, and shows it (and receives it reciprocally). 4. my secret superpower is secret even to me. but i wish i could teleport. 5. i am at my bravest when i state my needs. when i give in to fear even when i worry it'll crush me a little or a lot. 240207 ... epitome of incomprehensibility 1. Let's say "zoo," but it's been a long time since I've had any food with deliberate alphabet shapes. More food should be in alphabet shapes. 2. Comic-shaped things, often. Tea-related substances, even more. Wintery weather makes me cite blankets and slippers. (The slippers in particular make good footnotes.) 3. Listens. 4. If I told everyone, it wouldn't be a secret! (That is, I was going to say "picking up small objects with my toes," but I think I already put that on blather somewhere.) 5. Tired? at least about having "no filter" (as one of Lia's hats says). After choir on Monday, people were talking about pop music in this vein: "The first time I heard a Taylor Swift song was yesterday," "I just keep up with music so I can fill out the New York Times crossword," and "Will people 30 years from now be nostalgic about this stuff?" Now, I've also thought things along these lines, but I was feeling rebellious. We'd just had to sing O_Fortuna and it was stuck like stubborn glue in my head. So I went, "I don't think any of today's pop music is quite as ANNOYING as 'O Fortuna.' No offense, Carl Orff." Okay, this is not *actually* brave. And the last line turned it into a joke. But when it first came out of my mouth my brain was going, "What are you saying? And why?? Don't tell Sandra you don't like the songs! She's on the committee! She'll tell the director!!" 240207 ... Soma 1. I always move to spell the words "butts" or "boobs" in my spaghettios. In fact, I've even been known to gracefully drizzle sauce across a plate with these dignified words when I plate up curry or rice dishes. 2. I always find comfort in browsing thrift stores. Something about looking at the things that were all once someone's items or perhaps loved objects makes me feel small. Small like how you feel when you stand on a beach, only with less majesty and grandeur. In some ways, it's like the bargain bin version of that feeling. And it's normally comforting. It makes me feel less alone. This person got rid of this object. This person probably had a broken heart. That person perhaps had the joy of loved ones. 3. A true friend is someone who might not be obvious to you, but is eventually formed over time when you direct as much intent and care towards the relationship between you both as if they were a lover. 4. My secret superpower is the ability to summon a small crowd immediately after I go into a restaurant. 5. I am at my bravest when I am full of love or anger. I have only once seen both. 240207 ... warmthofrelease fun. I want a turn. 1. i want to spell these words in my spaghettios: I'll take what I'm given and see what I can find/make. that's the fun of it, why would you go into it with a certain objective? if you go looking to find something in particular it will prevent you from really seeing what's there. to look for one thing is to overlook everything else. how foolish. 2. i always find comfort in certain songs. Mogwai - "Helicon 2"* off the top of my head but there are dozens of these. 3. a true friend is someone who stabs you in the front. (Wilde) 4. my secret superpower is how easily I can convince you that I'm OK and nothing is wrong. 5. i am at my bravest when I'm helping someone whose fear or pain or struggle or worry or problem is something I can relate to. *this might be listed under its more proper name "New Paths to Helicon part 2" 240208 ... kerry i'll bite. 1. if i ate spaghettios (no shade on spaghettios, just doesn't appear in my pantry) i would probably want to spell something adolescent like "poop" or "boobs" (i see you, soma). maybe "oops." 2. i always find comfort in the smell of my dog's tummy. 3. a true friend is someone who is weird in the same way you are weird and celebrates it. also someone who lovingly points out your blind spots so that you can be the best version of yourself. 4. my secret superpower is, honestly, lying. and i'm not proud of it. 5. i am at my bravest when i can hold someone else's fear or pain without absorbing it. 240210 ... kerry also, i am interested in your answers to these questions, raze. 240210 ... raze i wasn't expecting this to draw such meaningful, compelling answers out of everyone. then again, given the brilliant things you all write, i shouldn't be surprised. 1. i want to spell these words in my spaghettios: "if you're going through hell, keep going." a winston churchill quote that feels especially prescient right now. 2. i always find comfort in being here and finding that i_have_words, even when i think i don't. 3. a true friend is someone who will share your happiness and swim with you through your sorrow. 4. my secret superpower is my memory. even in its diminished state, it surprises me what i'm able to hold onto. if i know you, chances_are i remember almost everything you've ever said to me. it can be a bit of a double-edged sword, but most of the time i'm grateful to have so many pictures (damn you, patois-talking brad pitt in "meet joe black"). 5. i am at my bravest when the_song_in_my_throat matches up with the music in my mind. 240212 ... pony 1. i want to spell these words in my spaghettios: release me. take that for what you will. 2. i always find comfort in solitude so unbroken that all that's left to bother is the ring within my ears. 3. a true friend is someone who understands the above. 4. my secret superpower is tenacity. 5. i am at my bravest when i respond. 240212 what's it to you? who go blather from